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Friday, August 1, 2014

Book Excerpt: The House of the Four Winds by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

Today we have a special book excerpt for our readers from the upcoming release THE HOUSE OF THE FOUR WINDS by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory!

Book Excerpt

FAREWELL TO SWANSGAARDE

THE EARLY-MORNING sunlight shone through the French doors that led out
to the balcony of Princess Clarice’s tower bedroom. From the balcony was
the sweeping vista of the Borogny Mountains, spreading their pristine
robes for admiration, their high peaks crowned in clouds and their
slopes robed in snow year-round. They were the first thing Princess
Clarice saw each morning as the sun rose over the Swanscrown.
I shall miss this. The thought came before Clarice quite realized she was awake. There was no point now in trying to convince herself she was asleep.
Throwing back the covers, she shrugged into her wrapper, tucked her feet
into her slippers, and padded over to the French doors. Taking a deep
anticipatory breath, she flung them open and stepped out onto the
balcony. As always, the dawn chill made her catch her breath, but she
had done this every morning for as long as she could remember. Today,
she would do it for the last time. In the distance, she could hear the
faint music of the bells at the university calling the students to their
morning lectures. Any other day, Clarice would have watched the valley
awaken until she was chilled clear through. But today was a day unlike
any other in all her previous eighteen years, and she was in a hurry to
meet it.

Breakfast was normally a noisy family affair, but today Clarice saw only
three places set at the long oak table. Duke Rupert was seated in his
usual place at the head of the table, but the Duchess was seated to his
right, instead of at the far end, and a place was set for Clarice on his
left.
“Come in, darling,” Yetive said encouragingly.
“Where is everyone?” Clarice asked curiously, coming in and taking her seat.
“The ballroom,” her father answered, taking a slice of toast from the
toast rack and buttering it. “Today is your birthday, after all. Had you
forgotten?”
“Of course not!” Family tradition was that the birthday child had
breakfast alone with Mama and Papa. Even Dantan had had his special day,
though then, on his first birthday, he had been much too young to
appreciate it.
And Clarice would not be here for his next one.
“I was just so…” She stopped. She couldn’t say exactly how she felt
about leaving Swansgaarde. Preoccupied, absolutely. Nervous? Perhaps.
Curious? Daring?
“Excited?” Mama asked.
Clarice smiled gratefully. “Yes. That. I can’t wait to begin, but at the same time, it feels almost disloyal to be so happy.”
“I shall call for the royal executioner at once,” Papa said, helping
himself to eggs and sausage from the silver chafing dishes on the table.
The Duke had a particularly dry sense of humor and generally cloaked
his stronger feelings in it.
“Don’t you remember, dear?” Mama replied with a little smile. “Your
great-grandfather pensioned the last one off and we haven’t had one
since.”
“Drat,” Papa said mildly. “What’s the use of being a duke if you can’t order anyone beheaded?”
“Oh,” Mama said with a saucy wink, “you may order it as much as you like.…”
Clarice laughed, as she was meant to, at her parents’ gentle teasing.
Duke Rupert was the mildest of men, preferring a day of fishing on the
banks of the Traza to a day of making ducal pronouncements. Clarice knew
that other countries were ruled very differently—why, far-off Lochrin,
which she had studied in her geography class, had a parliament and a
prime minister and hundreds of people who did nothing all day but help
Queen Gloriana rule her vast empire.
“So,” Papa said. Breakfast was finished and the footmen had come in to
clear away the dishes. “Today, Daughter, is your eighteenth birthday.
Have you decided where you will go and what you will do?” He steepled
his fingers. “Given your chosen ‘trade,’ I would become a very exclusive
instructor, if I were you. I think you would excel at it.”
Clarice refrained from making a face. Granted, she probably would make a
good instructor—and eventually that might be what she would do. But not
before she had a chance to see more of the world!
“I shall seek adventure, of course,” Clarice said with a laugh. “Think
how disappointed Damaris would be if I said anything else! But the best
adventures come when one is not looking for them, so I have it in mind
to see something of the world. Besides, the best instructors all have
continentwide reputations, and I’m not going to get enough pupils to
earn my living without one. I believe even traveling all the way to
Lochrin itself will be far less costly than staying quietly in
Swansgaarde.” And perhaps adventure will find me. “It isn’t as if I
can’t do without servants, after all.”
This, too, was true. From the time they were fourteen, the princesses
were required to spend a month of each year waiting on their sisters,
and at sixteen, to spend three months living in the Royal Hunting Lodge
without a single servant. It was one thing to be able to shoot a
goose—any noble worth his salt could do that. But could he gut and skin
it, then cook and serve it?
Duke Rupert’s daughters could. And polish a pair of boots, make up a
bed, or muck out a stable. It was excellent training, Duke Rupert always
said, in case one had to go incognito among someone else’s servants—or
flee into the wilderness.
Clarice was unsurprised to see her mother nod. “An excellent choice,” Yetive said.
“I thought that was what you would decide,” the Duke added
approvingly—but then, the Duke so trusted his wife’s judgment that he
was inclined to approve anything she endorsed. “I have made arrangements
with my banker in Heimlichstadt for the necessary funds, so remember to
see him before you go.” While each of them would be expected to earn
her own living, each princess would leave Swansgaarde with everything
she needed to take up her chosen trade, and enough money to support her
for perhaps a year. While it might seem like a great deal of
outlay—especially since the entire purpose of this plan was to not
bankrupt Swansgaarde—even the whole cost of sending twelve princesses
forth to seek their fortunes was less than the cost of twelve royal
dowries and twelve royal weddings.
The Duke got to his feet; Clarice and the Duchess stood as well. “And I
wish you luck, love, and adventure, my darling.” He hugged her tightly.
“Adventure most of all,” her mother said, putting her arms around
Clarice in turn. “And so you don’t forget us on all your adventures…”
The Duchess cocked an eyebrow at her husband.
The Duke reached into his pocket and drew out a small blue box. “What’s a birthday without presents?”
Clarice opened the box. Inside, on a bed of royal-blue velvet, lay a
golden brooch, perhaps as long as her thumb. Upon it, in silver and blue
enamel over gold, were the swans and towers of Swansgaarde. As a proper
princess, Clarice had had lessons on heraldry, and she could blazon the
device as easily as the chief herald: argent and azure, shield
quartered per chevron; center base, a swan swimming, argent; to dexter
chief, a tower, argent; to dexter sinister, a mountain peak, argent. The
arms were bordered by a double ring of diamonds alternating with
pearls, and the back of the brooch was as ornate as the front, its
smooth gold etched with an intricate drawing of Castle Swansgaarde.
Engraved beneath was the family motto: Je me promène là où je vais. The
first Prince of Swansgaarde had come from Wauloisene, and Waulois was
still the official court language. “I wander where I will.” Perhaps it
is a good omen.
“Of course it is bespelled,” Mama said. “So long as you have it, you will always be able to find your way back to Swansgaarde.”
“I shall wear it always—and think of all of you,” Clarice said proudly.

My thoughts: I fell in LOVE with this cover and was happy to get my hands on a book excerpt for The House of the Four Winds from the publisher. I love how this snippet lets us see that these princesses were not raised like the ones in storybooks. No, these young women were given the opportunity to get their royal hands dirty. Judging from the synopsis, Princes Clarice will need all of those skills in order to survive her trip to the New World in this lighthearted, swashbuckling adventure.

(My review copy is on the way, so I should have a review of this soon!)

The House of the Four Winds (One Dozen Daughters #1) by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory.

The rulers of tiny, impoverished Swansgaard have twelve daughters and
one son. While the prince’s future is assured, his twelve sisters must
find their own fortunes.

Disguising herself as Clarence, a sailor, Princess Clarice intends to
work her way to the New World. When the crew rebels, Clarice/Clarence,
an expert with rapier and dagger, sides with the handsome navigator,
Dominick, and kills the cruel captain.

Dominick leads the now-outlawed crew in search of treasure in the secret
pirate haven known as The House of Four Winds. They encounter the
sorceress Shamal, who claims Dominick for her own—but Clarice has fallen
hard for Dominick and won’t give him up without a fight.

Full of swashbuckling adventure, buoyant magic, and irrepressible charm,
The House of the Four Winds is a lighthearted fantasy romp by a pair of
bestselling writers.